30 Al Hawza of Najaf in Iraq will return to discuss it in Topic 3 of this paper, when we talk about the Sistani Era. There we will point to the broader global presence the Najaf Hawza has achieved in the present day as the world’s largest and most important religious center representing Shi‘ite Muslims. THE NAJAF HAWZA: ACADEMICS, DISCIPLINES, AND TEACHERS The nature of lessons at the Hawza One of the most important books illustrating the academic traditions at Shi‘ite hawza s in the past five centuries is Munyat al-Murīd fī Ādāb al-Mufīd wa-l­Mustafīd(Desire of the Aspirant: On the Etiquette of the Teacher and the Student) by Zayn al-Din ibn Ali al-Amili, known as al-Shahid al-Thani. He wrote the book in 954 AH/ 1547 AD, 11 years before his death in 965 AH/ 1557 AD. All those who came after al-Alami, such as Sadr al-Muti’allihin al-Shirazi and Muhsin al-Fayd al-Kashani, repeated the ideas and instructions contained in this book. In 1081 AH/ 1670-1 AD, more than a century after al-Alimi wrote his book, Ni‘mat Allah al-Jaza’iri wrote in Al-Anwār al-Nu‘mānīyya of the state of the religious school in Shiraz and Isfahan, and also reiterated everything al­Alimi had covered. The tradition has continued in this way up to our present, as teachers still advise their novice students of the religious sciences to read this book and abide by its contents. There have been many changes to the educational techniques al-Alimi mentioned in his book. The only thing that has not changed is that engagement in the study of religious sciences is seen as part of a very noble, distinguished mission to carry on and renew the legacy of the Prophet Muhammad. These academic commandments therefore focus most of all on the etiquette of the learner, which should encourage asceticism, humility, passion for knowledge, devotion to the truth, renunciation of hypocrisy, and complete dedication to one’s studies to the exclusion of outside concerns. Because Shi‘ite religious institutions were historically independent of the state, they have always been in crisis when it comes to financial support for students engaged full time in the study of Shari‘a sciences. The money for this was provided – and to a large exist, still is – from the funds paid by the faithful as Shari‘a-mandated dues(the khums tax, zakat, and so on) or donations to jurists at